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Tina Alberson and Michael James have both been charged in the death of 10-year-old Jonathan James.

Update 2 at 7:30 p.m.: The jury went home about 5 p.m. Jurors will return on Tuesday to deliberate punishment for Alberson.

She faces up to life in prison.

Update at 2:33 p.m.: The jury found Alberson guilty of a lesser second-degree felony, ruling she “recklessly” caused serious bodily injury to her stepson as opposed to knowingly causing the injuries.

That conviction carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. However, Alberson has a prior felony conviction and that could therefore bump her punishment range in this case back up to a potential life term.

So in the end, she may very well face up to life in prison even though the jury opted for the lesser conviction.

Update at 11:18 a.m.: In closing arguments, prosecutors said Alberson subjected her stepson to “cruel and unusual punishment” that even criminals cannot receive under the law.

“Don’t you go back there and tell her what she did is OK,” said prosecutor Carmen White.

“She tells you that she was restricting water at certain times, very limited times,” Fay said in reference to what Alberson said in testimony on Thursday.

Fay said there were no signs that Jonathan was in distress in the days before he died. However, multiple witnesses testified that they knew Jonathan was not feeling well and that he was repeatedly asking for or trying to drink water.

Prosecutor Marci Curry finished up the closing arguments by highlighting Alberson’s own words to Dallas police.

She played a clip of Alberson’s confession to a Dallas police detective following her August 2011 arrest. In it, child abuse Det. Kim Mayfield specifically asked Alberson if she punished Jonathan by limiting the water he could drink.

“Limiting, yes,” Alberson said.

If the jury convicts Alberson of first-degree felony injury to a child, the maximum sentence would be life in prison. The jury could also opt to convict her of a lesser second-degree felony, in which case the maximum sentence would be 20 years in prison.

The difference between the two is whether the jury determines Alberson “knowingly” or “recklessly” caused serious bodily injury. The latter finding would lead to the lower punishment range.

Original post at 8:43 a.m.: Closing arguments are expected this morning in the case of a 44-year-old woman accused of depriving her stepson of water for days until he collapsed and died in record Dallas heat in July 2011.

Joseph James, left, testifies today about the dehydration death of his brother Jonathan.

Michael Ray James returns to the stand today in the trial of his wife, Tina Maria Alberson.

Update 4 at 6:22 p.m.: Alberson testified that she did limit Jonathan’s drinking water — but only on the several occasions when he was in timeout in the days before he died.

Her testimony conflicted with prior statements she made to Dallas police and with the testimony of her husband and Jonathan’s twin brother.

Closing arguments are expected on Friday morning.

Update 3 at 3:23 p.m.: Tina Marie Alberson has taken the stand. Follow live tweets here.

Update 2 at 12:30 p.m.: Jonathan’s 12-year-old fraternal twin brother testified this morning that he thought his brother was suffering but he was too scared of his stepmother to do anything about it.

Joseph James refused to call Tina Alberson his stepmother and referred to his biological father as “Mike” as he recalled the final days of his brother’s life in July 2011.

“He would be asking for water and she would say, ‘No because you’re in trouble,’” Joseph said of Alberson.

At one point, Jonathan tried to sneak water from the bathroom faucet. But Alberson caught him and told him to get out of the bathroom, Joseph said.

“I did have concerns but, like I said before, I was scared to do anything,” Joseph said.

Joseph was wearing glasses, a black leather jacket, white short sleeve polo shirt, blue jeans and red sneakers. Early in his testimony, he took off the leather jacket.

He described what it was like to see his brother dying at his father’s house on a hot July 2011 night.

Alberson and her biological son pulled Jonathan out of a bath tub and were giving him CPR.

“I started panicking because he didn’t have a heartbeat, he didn’t have a pulse and I was scared,” Joseph said.

Joseph was in a Dallas area hospital room when his brother was pronounced dead later that night.

“It made me very, very emotional,” Joseph said. “Sad and angry at the same time.”

Joseph was fidgety at times during his testimony, but he answered all questions politely and even threw Alberson’s defense attorney off at one point.

Bill Fay asked if Joseph’s father, Alberson and others seemed concerned about Jonathan’s well being when they were gathered in a hospital waiting room on the night of his death.

Joseph responded, “I’m not really sure if they were. It seemed like it, but I can’t really tell because I’m not them.”

To which Fay said, “Right, that was a bad question, I’m sorry.”

“That’s OK,” Joseph told the attorney. Fay then paused, chuckled and admitted the boy had thrown him off.

Fay also asked about Joseph’s relationship with his brother.

“We were very close,” Joseph said. “We loved each other.”

Joseph said his brother “had a very loving heart.”

Update at 10:18 a.m.: Michael Ray James suspected that his 10-year-old son was being deprived of water, but he testified that he never actually heard his wife tell Jonathan James he could not have any water.

James made the admission under questioning from Alberson’s defense attorney Bill Fay this morning. Fay was aggressive at times in questioning the motives of Jonathan’s father in testifying against the boy’s stepmother.

“We’ve established you’re a liar, correct?” Fay said to James.

James responded that he did lie to Dallas police in the early part of the investigation. He said he was trying to protect his wife at the time.

James now says he thought Jonathan wasn’t getting enough water and that he even told his son to try to sneak some from the bathroom so Alberson would not see.

Jonathan’s fraternal twin brother Joseph James is now on the stand to testify.

Original item at 8:56 a.m.: A man charged in the dehydration death of his 10-year-old son is expected back on the stand this morning in the Dallas County trial of the boy’s stepmother.

James is scheduled to go to trial next month on the same first-degree felony charge for which his wife is on trial this week in the July 2011 death of Jonathan James. Prosecutors believe he was deprived of water for days in record Dallas heat as punishment for wetting the bed and other minor indiscretions.

The father testified Wednesday under questioning from prosecutors. But today he’s likely to face more pointed questions from Alberson’s defense attorney Bill Fay.

Update at 12: 25 p.m.: During a search of the southern Dallas home where Jonathan James had been staying, police found an “X” on the kitchen floor and another “X” on a nearby window.

The one on the floor was where Jonathan’s stepmother told police she made him stand. The “X” on the window marked the spot where he was to look outside, she said, and let her know whenever a bird landed on a shed in the yard.

This was Jonathan’s punishment for misbehaving, Alberson told police, according to testimony this morning from Dallas police homicide Det. Steve David. His misdeeds included breaking his stepbrother’s guitar and sneaking food, Alberson told police.

The police search was conducted with Alberson’s consent hours after Jonathan died, according to testimony.

David noted that the 2011 summer was one of the city’s hottest on record. He also testified that most of the home where Jonathan was staying did not have working air conditioning.

There was a working unit, however, in the room where Jonathan’s father was believed to have been sleeping.

Original item at 10:56 a.m.:

The mother of a 10-year-old boy who died after police say his father and stepmother denied him water for days as punishment testified this morning that she rushed to a Dallas-area hospital and saw doctors working on him on the night he died.